January 20th the Village Council
discussed the possible relocation of the historic Edwards House from 942
Maple to 743 Maple. There
are currently ongoing negotiations between
the Village, the
developer and the owners of the relocation site, John and Lauri Tillotson, to
produce a three party agreement about
moving the Edwards House.
The impact on parkway trees along Maple
Avenue is an issue of particular
concern for this proposed move, as is funding to move and/or replace parkway trees affected by the move.

Please Donate to Help Save the Edwards House.

Pierce
Downers Heritage Alliance (PDHA) has agreed to facilitate donations to
support saving the Edwards House. Contributions for this purpose
can be made online using this button:

Contributions can also be made with a check made out to PDHA and mailed to PDHA, P.O. Box 422, Downers Grove, IL
60515, with a notation that the donation is to help save the Edwards House. Donated funds will be
held in an escrow account until the Edwards House has been successfully
moved to its
new location. Funds donated to PDHA for this cause will be returned to
the donors if the house cannot be preserved.

Unless you tell us you wish to be anonymousyour support will be acknowledged on the SaveEdwardsHouse.com website. To request anonymity or for more information about supporting preservation of the Edwards House please email info@PDHA.org or call 630-915-0956. – Ken Lerner, PDHA Chairman

On
December 16th, the Downers Grove Village Council approved the petition
for special use on 942-936 Maple, paving the way for a condominium
development on the current site of the Edwards house. Pierce
Downer's Heritage Alliance
opposed the petition, along with many others. Click here to
read Ken Lerner's comments to the
Village Council on behalf of PDHA opposing this Special Use Permit.More
than 700 current and former Downers Grove residents signed a petition
opposing the development. We presented comments and expert
testimony from Joe Abel, planning consultant and former DuPage County
Director of Planning, and Doug Gilbert, architect and former head of
the Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission. Landmarks Illinois, the main
statewide organization promoting historic preservation, also stated its
support for preservation of the Edwards house and offered assistance to
the village in finding ways to adaptively re-use it. Click
here to read Landmarks Illinois President
McDonald's complete letter.
Many residents spoke to the Council, and the Plan Commission before
that, about the importance of maintaining the integrity of historic
Maple Avenue. However, the Council voted to approve the petition 5-2,
with Commissioners Barnett, Durkin, Hosť, Neustadt, and Rheintgen
supporting it, and Commissioner Olsen and Mayor Tully opposed.Click
here to watch the video recording of the December 16th meeting.
The condominium redevelopment is considered beginning at 18 minutes
& 55 seconds into
the meeting. Summary comments by the
Council members leading up to the final vote begin at about 1 hour
& 50 minutes into
this meeting that lasted nearly
2 hours & 30 minutes.

What Next?

Assuming
the condominium project moves forward – not a certainty, but likely –
the remaining option to save the Edwards house is to move it. The
village has received a serious and well-developed proposal from a
private party who owns property on Maple a few blocks away and wants to
move the house. There are some grounds for optimism that it will
happen. Other ideas have been floated too, such as moving the
house to the Village-owned property at Main and Maple, currently a
parking lot, to act as a gateway to the downtown area and host
business-related uses.

Another possible outcome from this process is that the Village looks at
the amending the zoning ordinance and Comprehensive Plan to clarify the
intended uses for downtown areas and transition zones. Several
Commissioners commented on this topic during the meeting. The historic
preservation ordinance may be looked at also.

PDHA will continue to monitor developments and post updates on this
page. And as provided in our mission, we will continue to
advocate and assist in efforts to preserve our cultural and
architectural heritage.

January
20th, the Village Council discussed the proposed scope and recommended
schedule for considering potential amendmentsto
the Historic Preservation Ordinance
and
Zoning Ordinance.
February 3rd the Council (Click
here for agenda.)continued its discussion and considered
changes to the Ordinance recommended by the Village Staff.

After
voting to approve the Special Use for a multi-family residence at
936-942 Maple Avenue, the Downers Grove Village Council directed its
Staff to prepare
for a Council discussion of potential amendments
to the Zoning Ordinance and Historic Preservation Ordinance.
The Staff drafted a recommended schedulefor
the Council's consideration of these potential changesthrough
October 2015.

Pierce
Downer's
Heritage Alliance is dedicated to preserving the
natural and cultural heritage of Downers Grove. In the past, we have
maintained sharp focus on the natural heritage within our community.
Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance has been instrumental in the
preservation and protection of Lyman Woods, and Belmont Prairie, which
continue as on-going projects.

We
are now also committed to the preservation
of cultural aspects of Downers Grove, including its rich
architectural heritage. We work to accomplish our mission through
education as well as community outreach.

* * * * *

Can you find this
house
in Downers Grove and why is it important?(Click the image for
the answer)

The Village of Downers Grove will no longer offer monthly electronics
recycling because DuPage
County ended its contract for electronics recycling at local municipal
locations. The County's
vendor, Creative
Recycling, terminated
its contract in July.